Information processing apparatus and information processing method to superimpose data on reference content

ABSTRACT

An information processing apparatus that controls a user interface to display content, acquires position information corresponding to an input received at the user interface, determines a condition corresponding to the position information, and controls the user interface to display data corresponding to the input based on a result of the determining.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/533,185, filed Jun. 26, 2012, which claims thepriority from prior Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2011-160608filed in the Japan Patent Office on Jul. 22, 2011, the entire content ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus,an information processing method, and a program.

For example, an information processing system disclosed in JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-108146 is capable ofdistributing a same content to individual communication devices in realtime. Accordingly, each of the communication devices can display thesame content in real time.

SUMMARY

However, among contents in display on each of the communication devices,the above-described information processing system is not allowed tosuperimpose another content, at a position requested by a user, on acontent in display on each of the communication devices.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing apparatus including a processor that controlsa user interface to display content; acquires position informationcorresponding to an input received at the user interface; determines acondition corresponding to the position information; and controls theuser interface to display data corresponding to the input based on aresult of the determining.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided an information processing method performed by an informationprocessing apparatus, the method comprising: controlling a userinterface to display content; acquiring position informationcorresponding to an input received at the user interface; determining acondition corresponding to the position information; and controlling theuser interface to display data corresponding to the input based on aresult of the determining.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a non-transitory computer-readable medium including computerprogram instructions, which when executed by an information processingapparatus, cause the information processing apparatus to perform amethod comprising: controlling a user interface to display content;acquiring position information corresponding to an input received at theuser interface; determining a condition corresponding to the positioninformation; and controlling the user interface to display datacorresponding to the input based on a result of the determining.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of aninformation processing system according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a serveraccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of acommunication device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure by theinformation processing system;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure by aninformation processing system according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a presentation section of a communication device;

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of aninformation processing system according to a third embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a display;

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of aninformation processing system according to a fourth embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed by being superimposed on a show window;

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration fordisplaying a content superimposed on a show window;

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of aninformation processing system according to a fifth embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example to which thefifth embodiment is applied;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure by theinformation processing system;

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a screen;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure by theinformation processing system;

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a screen;

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a screen; and

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a contentdisplayed on a screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following, detailed descriptions will be given of preferredembodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the attacheddrawings.

In this regard, in this specification and the drawings, a same referencenumeral is given to a component having a substantially same functionalconfiguration, and thus a duplicated description will be omitted.

In this regard, the descriptions will be given in the following order.

-   1. First embodiment (an example of superimposing (combining) a    superimposed display content at a position requested by user on    reference content)    -   1.1 Overall configuration    -   1.2 Configuration of server    -   1.3 Configuration of communication device    -   1.4 Processing procedure by information processing system-   2. Second embodiment (example of user voting)    -   2.1 Overall configuration    -   2.2 Processing procedure by information processing system-   3. Third embodiment (example of displaying combined content of    reference content and superimposed display content on a display)    -   3.1 Overall configuration    -   3.2 Processing procedure by information processing system-   4. Fourth embodiment (example of displaying superimposed display    content in a show window)    -   4.1 Overall configuration    -   4.2 Processing procedure by information processing system-   5. Fifth embodiment (example of displaying combined content at the    time of presentation)    -   5.1 Overall configuration    -   5.2 Processing procedure by information processing system

1. First Embodiment

1.1 Overall Configuration

First, a description will be given of an overall configuration of aninformation processing system 1 according to a first embodiment withreference to FIG. 1. The information processing system 1 includes aserver (information processing apparatus) 10, a plurality ofcommunication devices (user terminals) 20, and a communication network30.

The server 10 is connected to each of a plurality of the communicationdevices 20 through the communication network 30. The server 10 cantransmit (distribute) a reference content to each of the communicationdevices 20. Here, the reference content includes all image contents thatare visible to a user. The reference content can be considered to be,for example, a television program, a movie, an animation, a blog, a homepage, a photo content, an album (a set of photo contents), one scene ofa moving image, an illustration, a cooking recipe, an electronic book,an advertisement, etc. Here, a blog in the present embodiment is assumedto include a short blog, and a mini blog. The reference content may be acombination of an image content and an audio content.

Also, a reference content is a concept that includes not only theabove-described image content, but also an actual object (for example,an object displayed on a show window). In this regard, if a referencecontent is an object, the server 10 transmits not an actual referencecontent, but an image content (for example, a photo content) on whichthe reference content is drawn to each of the communication devices 20.

Also, the server 10 obtains a user content and position information fromeach of the communication devices 20. Here, the user content includesall the contents visible to the user in the same manner as the referencecontent. The position information indicates a position on the referencecontent. And the server 10 superimposes (combines) the user content at aposition indicated by the position information on the reference content.Thereby, the server 10 generates a combined content produced bysuperimposing a user content on the reference content. The server 10transmits the generated combined content to each of the communicationdevices 20.

Each of the communication devices 20 is a so-called desktop computer,and is connected to the server 10 and the other communication devices 20through the communication network 30. Each of the individualcommunication devices 20 is operated by a corresponding one of differentusers A to E. In the following, a word “user” represents one of theusers A to E unless otherwise specifically described.

The communication device 20 includes a presentation section 22, and candisplay a reference content transmitted from the server 10 on thepresentation section 22. Also, the communication device 20 is capable oftransmitting position information of a position on the referencecontent, specified by the user, and a user content selected by the userto the server 10. The communication device 20 can display the combinedcontent from the server 10 in response to this on the presentationsection 22. In this regard, the communication device 20 can be connectedto the communication network 30. And the communication device 20 may beany device as far as the device can display an image content, and may befor example, a notebook-sized personal computer, a game machine, a smartphone, a mobile phone, etc.

In this regard, the information processing system 10 includes fivecommunication devices and one server in FIG. 1, but a number ofindividual components is not limited to this.

1.2 Configuration of Server

Next, a description will be given of a configuration of the server 10with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the server 10includes a content acquisition section 11, a storage section 12, and acontrol section 13. That is to say, the server 10 has a hardwareconfiguration, such as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk, a communicationantenna, etc., and the above-described components are achieved by thehardware configuration.

The content acquisition section 11 transmits a reference content givenfrom the control section 13 to each of the communication devices 20.Also, the content acquisition section 11 outputs a user content andposition information, which have been transmitted from each of thecommunication devices 20, to the control section 13.

The storage section 12 stores various kinds of information that isnecessary for processing by the server 10, for example, programs andvarious kinds of reference contents, etc. The control section 13controls individual components of the server 10. Also, the controlsection 13 generates a superimposed display content on the basis of auser content given from the content acquisition section 11. Thesuperimposed display content may be a user content itself, and also maybe an altered user content. If a user content includes a short sentencecontent, such as a short blog, etc., and a user-face icon image, asuperimposed display content becomes a combination of a short sentencecontent and a user-face icon image, or a balloon image including a shortsentence content and a user-face icon image that are disposed in theimage, etc.

1.3 Configuration of Communication Device

Next, a description will be given of a configuration of thecommunication device 20 with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. As shown inFIG. 3, the communication device 20 includes an input operation section21, a presentation section 22, a storage section 23, a communicationsection 24, and a control section 25. That is to say, the communicationdevice 20 has a hardware configuration including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, amouse, a keyboard, a display, a communication antenna, etc., andachieves the above-described components by the hardware configuration.

The input operation section 21 is a so-called keyboard and mouse, andoutputs operation information in response to input operation of the userto the control section 25. The user can input a user content andposition information using the input operation section 21. Thepresentation section 22 is a so-called display. The presentation section22 displays various image contents, and outputs various audio contents.

The storage section 23 stores various kinds of information that isnecessary for the communication device 20 to execute various kinds ofprocessing, for example, programs, and various image contents, etc. Theimage contents stored in the storage section 24 include user-face iconimages. The user-face icon images are used as user information. Thecommunication section 24 performs communication with the server 10 andthe other communication devices 20. The control section 25 controls eachcomponent in the communication device 20. Also, the control section 25outputs the user content input by the user and position information tothe communication section 24. The communication section 24 transmits theuser content and the position information to the server 10.

1.4 Processing Procedure by Information Processing System

Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure by theinformation processing system 1 with reference to a flowchartillustrated in FIG. 4. The information processing system 1 performssuperimposed display processing illustrated in FIG. 4. In step S10, thecontrol section 13 of the server 10 obtains a reference content from thestorage section 12, and outputs the reference content to the contentacquisition section 11. The content acquisition section 11 transmits thereference content to each of the communication devices 20. Thecommunication section 24 of each of the communication devices 20receives the reference content, and transmits the reference content tothe control section 25. The control section 25 displays the referencecontent and an image content stored in the storage section 23 on thepresentation section 22. In this regard, the control section 25 mayobtain various image contents from the Internet, and may display theimage contents together with the reference content on the presentationsection 22. In this regard, the reference content may have somerelationship with these image contents.

FIG. 5 illustrates a display example. In this example, the presentationsection 22 displays a reference content 101, and displays image contents102 to 104 as image contents other than the reference content 101.

The user can superimpose a short-sentence content at a requestedposition on the reference content 101 as a user content. Here, adescription will be given of a method of superimposing a short sentencecontent on a reference content with reference to FIG. 5. The user movesa mouse pointer P (refer to FIG. 6) to a requested position on thereference content 101, and performs determination operation (forexample, a left click on the mouse) there. The control section 25recognizes the position of the mouse pointer P as a display position ofthe user content, that is to say, a user-specified position. The controlsection 25 displays a short-sentence-content input frame image 101 a ata position of the mouse pointer P on the presentation section 22. Theuser inputs a requested short sentence content 101 b in theshort-sentence-content input frame image 101 a. The control section 25determines the short sentence content and the face icon image of theuser to be a user content, and outputs the user content and positioninformation indicating the user-specified position to the communicationsection 24. The communication section 24 transmits superimposed-displayrequest information including this information to the server 10. Thecontent acquisition section 11 of the server 10 receives thesuperimposed-display request information, and outputs the information tothe control section 13.

In step S20, the control section 13 waits until the user content, thatis to say, the superimposed-display request information is given. If thesuperimposed-display request information is given, the control section13 proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, the control section 13 determines whether a condition thatthere are a predetermined number or more of superimposed displaycontents in the reference content is met or not. Here, the superimposeddisplay content is a content produced, for example, by combining auser-face icon image and a short sentence content. If determined thatthis condition is met, the control section 13 proceeds to step S40. Ifdetermined that this condition is not met, the control section 13proceeds to step S50.

In step S40, the control section 13 erases (deletes) an oldestsuperimposed display content from the reference content. In step S50,the control section 13 combines the short sentence content and the faceicon image to generate a superimposed display content. In step S60, thecontrol section 13 superimposes the superimposed display content at theuser-specified position on the reference content. Thereby, the controlsection 13 generates the combined content. On this combined content, forexample, a center point of a face-icon image portion is disposed at theuser-specified position among the superimposed display contents.

In step S70, the control section 13 outputs a combined content to thecontent acquisition section 11 as a new reference content, and storesthe combined content into the storage section 12. The contentacquisition section 11 transmits the reference content to each of thecommunication devices 20. A communication section 24 of each of thecommunication devices 20 receives the reference content, and transmitsthe reference content to the control section 25. The control section 25replaces the reference content in display by the reference content givenfrom the communication section 24.

FIG. 6 illustrates a display example. In this display example, thereference content 101 is replaced by a reference content 101 c. Thereference content 101 c is produced by superimposing superimposeddisplay contents 200, 210, and 220 on the reference content 101. That isto say, the presentation section 22 provides a display of superimposeddisplay contents 200, 210, and 220 on the reference content 101. Thesuperimposed display content 200 includes a short sentence content 201created by the user A and a face-icon image 202 of the user A. Thesuperimposed display content 210 includes a short sentence content 211created by the user C and a face-icon image 212 of the user C. Thesuperimposed display content 220 includes a short sentence content 221created by the user B and a face-icon image 222 of the user B. In thisregard, from step S60 to step S70, the server 10 may transmit asuperimposed display content and position information indicating adisplay position of the superimposed display content to each of thecommunication devices 20 in place of transmitting a combined content. Inthis case, each of the communication devices 20 superimposes thesuperimposed display content on the reference content in display on thebasis of the position information. In processing described later andsecond to fifth embodiments, the server 10 generates various combinedcontents, and transmits the contents to each of the communicationdevices 20 and the other components (for example, a display 40illustrated in FIG. 13), but the above-described processing also appliedto the processing. That is to say, the server 10 may transmit asuperimposed display content and position information to each of thecommunication devices 20 and the other components.

In step S80, the control section 13 determines whether or not tocontinue to display the reference content. If determined to continue todisplay the reference content, the control section 13 returns to stepS20. If determined to terminate display of the reference content, thesuperimposed display processing is terminated.

In this regard, in the above-described step S10, it is possible for theuser to superimpose the image content displayed on the presentationsection 22 on the reference content. For example, as illustrated in FIG.6 and FIG. 7, the user drags and drops the image content 103 at arequested position on the reference content 101 c (here, a lower-leftportion of the reference content 101 c).

The control section 25 recognizes the position at which the imagecontent 103 has been dropped (for example, a position of a center pointof the image content 103) as a user-specified position, and recognizesthe image content 103 to be a user content. The control section 25outputs the user content and the position information indicating theuser-specified position to the communication section 24. Thecommunication section 24 transmits a superimposed-display requestinformation including this information to the server 10. The contentacquisition section 11 of the server 10 receives thesuperimposed-display request information, and outputs the information tothe control section 13.

After that, in step S50, the control section 13 of the server 10determines the image content 103, which is a user content, to be thesuperimposed display content 103 a without change. Next, in step S60,the control section 13 combines superimposed display content 103 a atthe user-specified position on the reference content 101 c so as togenerate a combined content. In step S70, the control section 13transmits the combined content to each of the communication devices 20as a new reference content 103 d. Accordingly, each of the communicationdevices 20 displays the reference content 101 d produced by combiningsuperimposed display content 103 a at the lower left portion of thereference content 101 c.

Also, the control section 13 may display the reference content 110 asillustrated in FIG. 8 on the presentation section 22 of each of thecommunication devices 20. The reference content 110 is an image contenton which tables are drawn. Even in this case, the control section 13 candisplay various superimposed display contents on the reference content110 on the basis of the input operation by the above-described user. Forexample, in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, superimposed displaycontents 200 to 220, 101 e, and 103 a are superimposed on the referencecontent 110. Here, the superimposed display content 101 e is produced byshrinking the above-described reference content 101.

Also, when a reference content is a moving-image content, the controlsection 13 allows the superimposed display content to follow a motionobject (moving image) in the reference content. For example, in theabove-described step S60, the control section 13 performs motiondetection processing on the reference content so as to extract a motionobject. And the control section 13 determines whether a condition inwhich a user-specified position is within the motion object or in thevicinity of the motion object is met or not. If this condition is met,the control section 13 generates a combined content whose superimposeddisplay content follows the motion object. On the other hand, if thiscondition is not met, the control section 13 generates a combinedcontent produced by superimposing the superimposed display content atthe user-specified position on the reference content. After that, thecontrol section 13 outputs the combined content to the contentacquisition section 11 as a new reference content, and the contentacquisition section 11 transmits the reference content to each of thecommunication devices 20.

A display example is illustrated in FIG. 9. In this example, a referencecontent 105 includes a motion object (image of a running child) 105 a.Also, a superimposed display content 200 is superimposed in the vicinityof the motion object 105 a. And the superimposed display content 200moves so as to follow the motion object 105 a.

As described above, in the first embodiment, when each of thecommunication devices 20 displays a reference content, the informationprocessing system 1 obtains position information indicating auser-specified position and a user content from each of thecommunication devices 20. And the information processing system 1superimposes a superimposed display content based on the user content ata user-specified position on the reference content that is beingdisplayed by each of the communication devices 20. Accordingly, it ispossible for the information processing system 1 to superimpose anothercontent, that is to say, a user content at a position requested by theuser on the reference content in display.

Also, a user content includes a character content, specifically a shortsentence content, which the user has input in the communication device20. Accordingly, a user is allowed to publish the own comment on thereference content to the other users. To put it another way, the usercan view the reference content and comments by the other users at thesame time.

In this regard, it is thought that the user attaches a quoted content,such as a photo content, a moving-image content, a link to a Web site,or the like to a writing content, such as a blog, etc. However, in thiscase, it is necessary for the user to describe which part of the quotedcontent has interested the user using a writing content.

In contrast, in the first embodiment, the user is allowed to superimposehis or her own comment at a requested position on the reference content,and thus it is not necessary to describe a position of the referencecontent using a comment. This is because the user is allowed todetermine on which part of the reference content a comment is given onthe basis of the position on which the comment is superimposed. Forexample, in the example in FIG. 6, the users A to C publish comments ona baseball player. Also, in the example in FIG. 9, the user A publishesa comment on the motion object 105 a. Accordingly, it is possible forthe user to have the other users understand the own comment easily.

Further, a user content includes user information on the user of thecommunication device 20, specifically, a face icon image of the user,and thus each user can publish a face icon image to the other users inaddition to the short sentence content. Thereby, each user can easilydetermine which user has given each of the short sentence contents.

Further, the user content includes an image content selected by the userof the communication device 20. Accordingly, each user can superimpose arequested image content at a requested position on the referencecontent. Also, each user can superimpose a short sentence content on theimage contents published by the other users.

2. Second Embodiment

2.1 Overall Configuration

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment according tothe present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, an information processingsystem 2 according to the second embodiment has a same configuration asthat of the information processing system 1.

2.2 Processing Procedure by Information Processing System

Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure by theinformation processing system 2 with reference to a flowchartillustrated in FIG. 10. The information processing system 2 performssuperimposed display processing illustrated in FIG. 10. In step S100, acontrol section 13 of the server 10 obtains a reference content from thestorage section 12, and outputs the reference content to the contentacquisition section 11. Here, the reference content includes a pluralityof image contents for use in voting, a face-icon display area, and acounter (determination result information). The image content for use invoting is an image content to be a target of voting by the users. Theface-icon display area is provided for each image content for use invoting, and indicates a user who has voted on the image content for usein voting. The counter is provided for each image content for use invoting, and indicates a number of users who has voted on the imagecontent for use in voting.

The content acquisition section 11 transmits a reference content to eachof the communication devices 20. The communication section 24 of each ofthe communication devices 20 receives the reference content, andtransmits the reference content to the control section 25. The controlsection 25 displays the reference content on the presentation section22.

FIG. 11 illustrates a display example. In this example, on thepresentation section 22, image contents for use in voting 120 and 121,on which smart phones different from each other are drawn as a referencecontent, face-icon display areas 120 a and 121 a, and counters 120 b and121 b, which become determination result information, are displayed. Theface-icon display area 120 a is an area indicating users who have votedfor the image content for use in voting 120. The face-icon display area121 a is an area indicating users who have voted for the image contentfor use in voting 121. The counter 120 b indicates a number of users whohave voted for the image content for use in voting 120. The counter 121b indicates a number of users who have voted for the image content foruse in voting 121. In this regard, the reference content is not limitedto this, and for example, may be voting on which team will win a soccergame, etc. In this case, the image content for use in voting becomes,for example, an emblem, etc.

The user can superimpose a short sentence content at a requestedposition on the reference content 101 as a user content. A specificmethod of inputting and processing of the communication device 20 onuser input are the same as those in the first embodiment. For example,when a user wants to vote for the image content for use in voting 120,the user specifies a position of the image content for use in voting 120or the vicinity thereof, and inputs a short sentence content.

In step S110, the control section 13 waits until a user content, that isto say, superimposed-display request information, is given. If thesuperimposed-display request information is given, the control section13 proceeds to step S120.

In step S120, the control section 13 combines the short sentence contentand the face icon image so as to generate a superimposed displaycontent. In step S130, the control section 13 superimposes asuperimposed display content at a user-specified position on thereference content. Thereby, the control section 13 generates a combinedcontent. In the combined content, for example, out of the superimposeddisplay contents, a center point of the face-icon image portion isdisposed on the user-specified position.

In step S140, the control section 13 outputs the combined content to thecontent acquisition section 11 as a new reference content, and storesthe combined content into the storage section 12. The contentacquisition section 11 transmits the reference content to each of thecommunication devices 20. The communication section 24 of each of thecommunication device 20 receives the reference content, and transmitsthe reference content to the control section 25. The control section 25replaces the reference content in display by the reference content givenfrom the communication section 24. Thereby, for example, as illustratedin FIG. 11, an image content produced by disposing the superimposeddisplay content 200 on the image content for use in voting 121 isdisplayed on each of the communication devices 20 as a referencecontent. As described above, the superimposed display content 200includes the short sentence content 201 input by the user A, and theface icon image 202 of the user A.

In step S150, the control section 13 recognizes an image content for usein voting, which has been voted by the user, that is to say, avoting-target image content. Specifically, the control section 13determines whether or not a condition is met in which a short sentencecontent is blank (that is to say, the user content includes only a faceicon image), and, a user-specified position indicates a position in someface-icon display area. If the condition is determined to be met, thecontrol section 13 identifies a face-icon display area indicated by theuser-specified position, and recognizes an image content for use invoting corresponding to the identified face-icon display area as avoting-target image content. In this regard, if the above-describedcondition is not met, the control section 13 proceeds to step S190. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 12, when a user content is only the faceicon image 202, and if the user-specified position indicates a positionin the face-icon display area 121 a, the control section 13 recognizesthe image content for use in voting 121 as a voting-target imagecontent.

In step S170, the control section 13 generates counter-incrementinstruction information that instructs a counter corresponding to thevoting-target image content to be incremented by 1, and outputs thecounter to the content acquisition section 11. The content acquisitionsection 11 transmits the counter-increment instruction information toeach of the communication devices 20. The communication section 24 ofeach of the communication devices 20 receives the counter-incrementinstruction information, and outputs the information to the controlsection 25. The control section 25 increments the counter correspondingto the voting-target image content of the reference content by 1 on thebasis of the counter-increment instruction information.

Thereby, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, if a vote is given tothe image content for use in voting 121, the reference content with thecounter 121 b that was incremented by 1 is displayed on each of thecommunication devices 20. In this regard, each of the communicationdevices 20 may output some sound effect (for example, a sound effect of“click”) each time values of the counters 120 b and 121 b change. Suchsound effect may be output only at the communication device 20 of theuser who gave the vote.

In step S190, the control section 13 determines whether or not tocontinue to display the reference content. If determined to continue todisplay the reference content, the control section 13 returns to stepS110. If determined to terminate to display the reference content, thesuperimposed display processing is terminated.

As described above, it is possible for the information processing system2 according to the second embodiment to obtain the following advantagesin addition to the same advantages of those of the first embodiment.That is to say, the information processing system 2 displays a pluralityof image content for use in voting at different positions with eachother as reference contents. And the information processing system 2determines a voting-target image content on the basis of auser-specified position and a position of the image content for use invoting. And the information processing system 2 displays determinationresult information on a determination result, that is to say, a counter.Thereby, each user can understand for which image content for use invoting the other users have voted in real time.

3. Third Embodiment

3.1 Overall Configuration

Next, a description will be given of a third embodiment according to thepresent disclosure. First, a description will be given of an overallconfiguration of an information processing system 3 according to a thirdembodiment with reference to FIG. 13. The information processing system3 has a same configuration as that of the information processing system1 except that a display 40 is added to the information processing system1. In this regard, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the display 40 isdisposed, for example, at an event hall, in a department store, etc.,and is viewed by an unspecified large number of viewers.

3.2 Processing Procedure by Information Processing System

Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure by theinformation processing system 3. Processing by the informationprocessing system 3 is basically the same as the processing by theinformation processing system 1, and thus a description will be given ofdifferences with the information processing system 1.

In step S10, the control section 13 of the server 10 obtains a referencecontent from the storage section 12, and outputs the reference contentto the content acquisition section 11. The control section 13 outputs,for example, a reference content 130 illustrated in FIG. 14 to thecontent acquisition section 11. The reference content 130 is a floorplan of an event hall, a department store, etc. The content acquisitionsection 11 transmits the reference content to each of the communicationdevices 20 and the display 40. The communication section 24 of each ofthe communication devices 20 receives the reference content, andtransmits the reference content to the control section 25. The controlsection 25 displays the reference content and the image content storedin the storage section 23 to the presentation section 22. On the otherhand, the display 40 also displays the reference content.

The user can superimpose a short sentence content at a requestedposition on the reference content as a user content. A specific methodof operation is the same as that of the first embodiment. The controlsection 25 determines the short sentence content to be a user content,and outputs the user content and position information indicating auser-specified position to the communication section 24. Thecommunication section 24 transmits the superimposed-display requestinformation including the information to the server 10. The contentacquisition section 11 of the server 10 receives superimposed-displayrequest information, and outputs the information to the control section13.

In step S50, the control section 13 generates a superimposed displaycontent produced by disposing the short sentence content in a balloonimage. In step S60, the control section 13 disposes the superimposeddisplay content at a user-specified position on the reference content.Specifically, the control section 13 determines a start point of theballoon image to be a user-specified position. Thereby, the controlsection 13 generates a combined content.

In step S70, the control section 13 outputs, as a new reference content,the combined content to the content acquisition section 11, and storesthe combined content to the storage section 12. The content acquisitionsection 11 transmits the reference content to each of the communicationdevices 20 and the display 40. The communication section 24 of each ofthe communication devices 20 receives the reference content, andtransmits the reference content to the control section 25. The controlsection 25 replaces the reference content in display by the referencecontent given from the communication section 24. In the same manner, thedisplay 40 also replaces the reference content in display by the newlygiven reference content. A display example is illustrated in FIG. 14. InFIG. 14, a plurality of superimposed display contents are disposed onthe reference content 130. Each of the superimposed display contents 300includes a balloon image 300 a, and a short sentence content 302disposed in the balloon image. A start point of the balloon image 300 a,that is to say, a start point 301 of the superimposed display content300 indicates a user-specified position.

As described above, it is possible for the information processing system3 according to the third embodiment to obtain the following advantagesin addition to the same advantages of those of the first embodiment.That is to say, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the information processingsystem 3 according to the third embodiment displays the referencecontent and the superimposed display content on the display 40 that isviewed by an unspecified large number of viewers X. Accordingly, theviewers X can view the reference content and a comment of each user onthe reference content. Further, the viewers X refer to a displayposition of each comment so that the viewers X can easily understand onwhich part of the reference content each comment is given. In thisregard, in the third embodiment, by disposing a display at eachconference room for a teleconference, it is possible to apply theinformation processing system 3 to a so-called teleconference system. Inthis case, each user becomes a participant of the teleconference system.

4. Fourth Embodiment

4.1 Overall Configuration

Next, a description will be given of a fourth embodiment of the presentdisclosure. First, a description will be given of an overallconfiguration of an information processing system 4 according to thefourth embodiment with reference to FIG. 15. The information processingsystem 4 is produced by adding a projector 41, a screen 42, and a showwindow 43 to the information processing system 1. As illustrated in FIG.16 and FIG. 17, one or a plurality of objects Y are disposed in anexhibition booth in a show window 43. The screen 42 is disposed on anexhibition-booth side of the show window 43. The projector 41 isdisposed on a ceiling of an exhibition booth, and projects thesuperimposed display content onto the screen 42. That is to say, theprojector 41 displays the superimposed display content on the screen 42.The objects Y in the show window 43 is viewed by an unspecified largenumber of viewers X.

4.2 Processing Procedure by Information Processing System

Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure by theinformation processing system 4. Processing by the informationprocessing system 4 is basically the same as the processing by theinformation processing system 1, and thus a description will be given ofdifferences with the information processing system 1.

In step S10, the control section 13 of the server 10 obtains a tentativereference content from the storage section 12, and outputs the tentativereference content to the content acquisition section 11. Here, thetentative reference content is a photo content obtained by shooting theshow window 43 from a side of the viewers X. This photo content containsthe objects Y. The content acquisition section 11 transmits thetentative reference content to each of the communication devices 20. Thecommunication section 24 of each of the communication devices 20receives the tentative reference content, and transmits the tentativereference content to the control section 25. The control section 25displays the tentative reference content and the image content stored inthe storage section 23 onto the presentation section 22.

The user can superimpose a short sentence content at a requestedposition on the tentative reference content as a user content. Aspecific method of operation is the same as that of the firstembodiment. The control section 25 determines the short sentence contentto be a user content, and outputs the user content and positioninformation indicating the user-specified position to the communicationsection 24. The communication section 24 transmits superimposed-displayrequest information including this information to the server 10. Thecontent acquisition section 11 of the server 10 receives thesuperimposed-display request information, and outputs thesuperimposed-display request information to the control section 13.

In step S20, the control section 13 waits until a user content, that isto say, superimposed-display request information is given. Ifsuperimposed-display request information is given, the control section13 proceeds to step S30.

In step S30, the control section 13 determines whether a condition inwhich there are a predetermined number of superimposed display contentsor more in the tentative reference content is met or not. Here, thesuperimposed display content is a content produced by disposing a shortsentence content in a balloon image in the same manner as the thirdembodiment. If determined that the condition is met, the control section13 proceeds to step S40. If determined that the condition is not met,the control section 13 proceeds to step S50. In step S40, the controlsection 13 erases (deletes) an oldest superimposed display content fromthe tentative reference content.

In step S50, the control section 13 generates a superimposed displaycontent. In step S60, the control section 13 disposes the superimposeddisplay content at a user-specified position on the tentative referencecontent. Specifically, the control section 13 determines a start pointof the balloon image to be the user-specified position. Thereby, thecontrol section 13 generates a combined content.

In step S70, the control section 13 outputs the combined content to thecontent acquisition section 11 as a new tentative reference content, andstores the tentative reference content into the storage section 12. Thecontent acquisition section 11 transmits the tentative reference contentto each of the communication devices 20 and the projector 41. Thecommunication section 24 of each of the communication devices 20receives the tentative reference content, and transmits the tentativereference content to the control section 25. The control section 25replaces the tentative reference content in display by the tentativereference content given from the communication section 24.

On the other hand, the projector 41 displays only a part of thesuperimposed display content out of the received tentative referencecontents on the screen 42. A display example is illustrated in FIG. 16.In this example, one or a plurality of superimposed display contents 300are displayed on the screen 42, substantially in the show window 43. Thesuperimposed display contents 300 include balloon images 300 a and shortsentence contents 302 disposed in the balloon images. A start point ofthe balloon image 300 a, that is to say, a start point 301 of thesuperimposed display content 300 indicates a user-specified position.

Here, the tentative reference content is a photo content obtained byshooting the show window 43 from a side of the viewers X. Accordingly,the user substantially specifies a position on the show window 43, andinputs a short sentence content 302. Accordingly, the viewers X can viewcomments on the objects Y by individual users. On the other hand, theprojector 41 displays only the superimposed display content onto thescreen 42, but the show window 43 already displays the objects Y.Accordingly, the viewers X can view a same scene as the tentativereference contents viewed by the individual users.

In step S80, the control section 13 determines whether to continue todisplay the tentative reference content or not. If determined tocontinue to display the tentative reference content, the control section13 returns to step S20. If determined to terminate to display thereference content, the superimposed display processing is terminated.

As described above, by the fourth embodiment, it is possible for theinformation processing system 4 to obtain the following advantages inaddition to the same advantages as those of the information processingsystem 1. That is to say, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the informationprocessing system 4 displays the superimposed display content on theshow window 43 that is viewed by an unspecified large number of viewersX. Accordingly, the viewers X can view the objects Y and comments on theobjects Y by the individual users. Further, the viewers X refer todisplay positions of the individual comments so that the viewers X caneasily understand on which objects Y each the individual comments aregiven.

5. Fifth Embodiment

5.1 Overall Configuration

Next, a description will be given of a fifth embodiment of the presentdisclosure. First, a description will be given of an overallconfiguration of an information processing system 5 according to thefifth embodiment with reference to FIG. 18. The information processingsystem 5 is produced by adding a projector 50 and a screen 51 to theinformation processing system 1. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the screen51 displays various presentation documents in a presentation. That is tosay, the fifth embodiment is a technique suitable for presentation. Inthe presentation illustrated in FIG. 19, a presenter F carries outpresentation, and a plurality of users including users A to E watch thepresentation.

5.2 Processing Procedure by Information Processing System

Next, a description will be given of a processing procedure by theinformation processing system 5 with reference to a flowchartillustrated in FIG. 20. As illustrated in FIG. 20, the informationprocessing system 5 performs superimposed display processing.

In step S200, the control section 13 of the server 10 obtains thereference content from the storage section 12, and outputs the referencecontent to the content acquisition section 11. The control section 13outputs, for example, a reference content 140 illustrated in FIG. 21 tothe content acquisition section 11. The reference content 140 is aso-called presentation document, and includes a sequential-line-graphimage 141. The reference content used in the fifth embodiment may be anykind of documents as far as presentation documents, and may be, forexample, a bar chart image, etc.

The content acquisition section 11 transmits the reference content toeach of the communication devices 20 and the projector 50. Thecommunication section 24 of each of the communication devices 20receives the reference content, and transmits the reference content tothe control section 25. The control section 25 displays the referencecontent and the image content stored in the storage section 23 onto thepresentation section 22. The projector 50 displays the reference contenton the screen 51.

The user can superimpose a short sentence content at a requested pointon the reference content as a user content. A specific method ofoperation is the same as that of the first embodiment. The controlsection 25 determines a short sentence content and a face icon image tobe a user content, and outputs the user content and position informationindicating a user-specified position to the communication section 24.The communication section 24 transmits the superimposed-display requestinformation including the information to the server 10. The contentacquisition section 11 of the server 10 receives superimposed-displayrequest information, and outputs the information to the control section13.

In step S210, the control section 13 waits until the user content, thatis to say, the superimposed-display request information is given. If thesuperimposed-display request information is given, the control section13 proceeds to step S220.

In step S220, the control section 13 determines whether a conditionwhere a number of user contents in a predetermined area including auser-specified position, that is to say, a number of superimposeddisplay contents generated in step S250 is a predetermined number ormore is met or not. If determined that the condition is met, the controlsection 13 proceeds to step S230. If determined that the condition isnot met, the control section 13 proceeds to step S250.

In step S230, the control section 13 analyzes all the user contents,specifically, short sentence contents in a predetermined range so as tograsp contents common to a large portion of these user contents (forexample, eighty percent or more). For such methods of analysis, a moodanalysis, or a morphological analysis, etc., is considered.

In step S240, the control section 13 generates a superimposed-displaycontent on the basis of an analysis result. The superimposed displaycontent generated here includes an area image indicating a predeterminedrange, a short sentence content indicating the analysis result, and aballoon image including the short sentence content. The short sentencecontent indicates contents common to a large portion of user contentsout of user contents in a predetermined range. A start point of aballoon image is disposed on the area image or in the vicinity of thearea image. Also, the control section 13 calculates an arithmetic meanof all the user-specified positions in a predetermined range, anddetermines the obtained value as a result to be a user-specifiedposition of the superimposed display content. In this regard, here, thecontents common to a large portion of the user contents in apredetermined range is displayed by a short sentence content. However,the other display modes (for example, color, etc.) may be used fordisplay. For example, a predetermined range may be displayed in color.

In step S250, the control section 13 generates a superimposed displaycontent. The superimposed display content generated here is produced bycombining the face icon image and the short sentence content. Thesuperimposed display content may be produced by disposing the face iconimage and the short sentence content in the balloon image. In this case,the start point of the balloon image indicates the user-specifiedposition.

In step S260, the superimposed-display content is disposed at theuser-specified position on the reference content. Specific processing isthe same as that of the first embodiment. In this regard, in the casewhere the superimposed-display content includes an area image, a centerof the area image matches the user-specified position.

In step S270, the control section 13 outputs the combined content to thecontent acquisition section 11 as a new reference content, and storesthe combined content into the storage section 12. The contentacquisition section 11 transmits the reference content to each of thecommunication devices 20 and the projector 50. The communication section24 of each of the communication devices 20 receives the referencecontent, and transmits the reference content to the control section 25.The control section 25 replaces the reference content in display by thereference content given from the communication section 24. In the samemanner, the projector 50 replaces the reference content in display onthe screen 51 by the newly received reference content.

A display example is illustrated in FIG. 21. In this example, thesuperimposed display contents 200 to 230, and 400 are disposed on thereference content 140. The superimposed display content 230 is producedby disposing a short sentence content 231 created by a user D and a faceicon image 232 of the user D are disposed in a balloon image 233. Astart point 234 of the balloon image 233 indicates a user-specifiedposition. In this regard, whether to use a balloon image as asuperimposed display content or not may be determined freely by thecontrol section 13, but also may be determined by the user. Asillustrated in FIG. 21, the superimposed display content 230 with theballoon image can instruct the user-specified position by pinpointing.Accordingly, if the user wants to explicitly specify a user-specifiedposition, the user can use a superimposed display content with a balloonimage.

The superimposed display content 400 includes an area image 401, aballoon image 402, a short sentence content 403 in a balloon image. Acenter of the area image 401 indicates a position produced bycalculating an arithmetic mean of the user-specified positions in arange indicated by the area image 401. The short sentence content 403indicates contents common to a large portion of the user contents out ofthe user contents in a range indicated by the area image 401.

In step S280, control section 13 determines whether to continue todisplay the tentative reference content or not. If determined tocontinue to display the tentative reference content, the control section13 returns to step S210. If determined to terminate to display thereference content, the superimposed display processing is terminated.

As described above, by the fifth embodiment, it is possible for theinformation processing system 5 to obtain the following advantages inaddition to the same advantages as those of the information processingsystem 1. That is to say, as illustrated in FIG. 21, the informationprocessing system 5 performs analysis processing for analyzing the usercontents in a predetermined range, and generate a superimposed displaycontent on the basis of a result of the analysis processing.Accordingly, for example, if there are a large number of user contentsin the predetermined range, the information processing system 5generates a superimposed display content indicating contents common tothe user contents, and can superimpose the user contents on thereference content. At the same time, when there are a large number ofuser contents in a predetermined range, if these user contents aredisplayed as the superimposed display content, there is a possibilitythat information in the predetermined range becomes complicated.Accordingly, if there are a large number of user contents in apredetermined range, the information processing system 5 can arrange theinformation in the predetermined range, and display the information.

In this regard, the information processing system 5 may performsuperimposed display processing illustrated in FIG. 22 together with orin place of the above-described processing. In the following, adescription will be given of the superimposed display processingillustrated in FIG. 22. In step S300, the control section 13 of theserver 10 obtains a reference content from the storage section 12, andoutputs the reference content to the content acquisition section 11. Thecontrol section 13 outputs, for example, the reference contentillustrated in FIG. 23 to the content acquisition section 11. Thereference content illustrated in FIG. 23 includes a question-contentsdisplay area 150, questioner-icon display areas 151, and a timer area152. In the question-contents display area 150, questions by questionersare displayed. The questioner-icon display areas 151 can be in areservation state in which a face icon image of a questioner isdisplayed and a blank field state in which a blank-field image isdisplayed. In the example illustrated in FIG. 23, all thequestioner-icon display areas 151 are in blank field states. The timerarea 152 starts operation when any one of the questioners asks aquestion. Accordingly, this reference content is displayed when a userasks a presenter a question. In the following, a description will begiven of processing using this example. In this regard, the number ofthe questioner-icon display areas 151 is not limited to 5.

The content acquisition section 11 transmits the reference content toeach of the communication devices 20 and the projector 50. Thecommunication section 24 of each of the communication devices 20receives the reference content, and transmits the reference content tothe control section 25. The control section 25 displays the referencecontent and the image content stored in the storage section 23 onto thepresentation section 22. The projector 50 displays the reference contenton the screen 51.

The user specifies a questioner-icon display area 151 in a blank-fieldstate, and inputs question contents in the area. A specific method ofoperation is the same as that of the first embodiment. The controlsection 25 determines a question sentence content describing questioncontents and a face icon image to be a user content, and outputs theuser content and position information indicating the user-specifiedposition to the communication section 24. The communication section 24transmits superimposed-display request information including theinformation to the server 10. The content acquisition section 11 of theserver 10 receives the superimposed-display request information, andoutputs the information to the control section 13.

In step S310, the control section 13 waits until a user content, that isto say, superimposed-display request information is given. Ifsuperimposed-display request information is given, the control section13 proceeds to step S320.

In step S320, the control section 13 determines whether a condition ofthe user specifying a questioner-icon display area 151 in a blank fieldstate is met or not. If determined that this condition is met, thecontrol section 13 proceeds to step S330, whereas if determined thatthis condition is not met, the superimposed display processing isterminated.

In step S330, the control section 13 records the user as a questioner.In step S340, the control section 13 superimposes the face icon image onthe questioner-icon display area 151 at the user-specified position soas to generate a combined content. Accordingly, the face icon imagebecomes the superimposed display content. Thereby, the questioner-icondisplay area 151 at the user-specified position goes into a reservedstate.

In step S350, the control section 13 determines the combined content tobe a new reference content, and outputs the new reference content to thecontent acquisition section 11 to store the new reference content intothe storage section 12. The content acquisition section 11 transmits thereference content to each of the communication devices 20 and theprojector 50. The communication section 24 of each of the communicationdevices 20 receives the reference content, and transmits the referencecontent to the control section 25. The control section 25 replaces thereference content in display by the reference content given from thecommunication section 24. In the same manner, the projector 50 replacesthe reference content in display on the screen 51 by the newly receivedreference content.

A display example is illustrated in FIG. 24. In this example, up tothree questioner-icon display areas 151 from the left are in a reservedstate. That is to say, face icon images 202, 242, and 232 of the usersA, E, and D are superimposed on the three questioner-icon display areas151 from the left, respectively. In step S360, the control section 13determines whether a condition that the question-contents display area150 is a blank field is met or not. If determined that this condition ismet, the control section 13 proceeds to step S370, whereas if determinedthat this condition is not met, the control section 13 proceeds to stepS390.

In step S370, the control section 13 superimposes a user content of thequestioner who was recorded earliest, that is to say, a questionsentence content on the question-contents display area 150, andhighlights the face icon image of the questioner so as to generate acombined content. Accordingly, the question sentence content and theface icon image become the superimposed display content.

In step S380, the control section 13 determines the combined content tobe a new reference content, and outputs the new reference content to thecontent acquisition section 11 to store the reference content into thestorage section 12. The content acquisition section 11 transmits thereference content to each of the communication devices 20 and theprojector 50. The communication section 24 of each of the communicationdevices 20 receives the reference content, and transmits the referencecontent to the control section 25. The control section 25 replaces thereference content in display by the reference content given from thecommunication section 24. In the same manner, the projector 50 replacesthe reference content in display on the screen 51 by the newly receivedreference content. A display example is illustrated in FIG. 25. In thisexample, the user A is asking a question.

In this regard, the control section 13 starts operation of the timerarea 152, and outputs the timer area 152 to the content acquisitionsection 11 when necessary. The content acquisition section 11 transmitsthe timer area 152 to each of the communication devices 20 and theprojector 50. The communication section 24 of each of the communicationdevices 20 receives the timer area 152, and transmits the timer area 152to the control section 25. The control section 25 replaces the timerarea 152 in display by the timer area 152 given by the communicationsection 24. In the same manner, the projector 50 replaces the timer area152 in display on the screen 51 by the newly received timer area 152.

In step S390, the control section 13 determines whether questions havebeen terminated or not. If determined that the questions have beenterminated, the control section 13 proceeds to step S400, whereas ifdetermined that the questions have not been terminated, the controlsection 13 proceeds to step S430.

In step S400, the control section 13 changes the question-contentsdisplay area 150 to a blank field to generate a new reference content.The control section 13 outputs the reference content to the contentacquisition section 11 to stores the reference content into the storagesection 12. The content acquisition section 11 transmits the referencecontent to each of the communication devices 20 and the projector 50.The communication section 24 of each of the communication devices 20receives the reference content, and transmits the reference content tothe control section 25. The control section 25 replaces the referencecontent in display by the reference content given from the communicationsection 24. In the same manner, the projector 50 replaces the referencecontent in display on the screen 51 by the newly received referencecontent.

In step S410, the control section 13 determines whether a condition inwhich there is a questioner who has not ask a question yet is met ornot. If determined that this condition is met, the control section 13returns to step S370, whereas if determined that this condition is notmet, the control section 13 proceeds to step S420.

In step S420, the control section 13 determines whether or not tocontinue to display the reference content. If determined to continue todisplay the reference content, the control section 13 returns to stepS310, whereas if determined to terminate to display the referencecontent, the superimposed display processing is terminated.

In step S430, the control section 13 determines whether a condition inwhich the timer area 152 tell a time of a predetermined-question-allowedtime period or more is met or not. If determined that this condition ismet, the control section 13 proceeds to step S440, whereas if determinedthat this condition is not met, the control section 13 returns to stepS390.

In step S440, the control section 13 performs effect display processing.For example, the control section 13 generates a reference content inwhich a face-icon image of a questioner who has not asked a question yettrembles. The control section 13 outputs the reference content to thecontent acquisition section 11, and stores the reference content to thestorage section 12. The content acquisition section 11 transmits thereference content to each of the communication devices 20 and theprojector 50. The communication section 24 of each of the communicationdevices 20 receives the reference content, and transmits the referencecontent to the control section 25. The control section 25 replaces thereference content in display by the reference content given from thecommunication section 24. In the same manner, the projector 50 replacesthe reference content in display on the screen 51 by the newly receivedreference content. Thereby, each of the users can recognize thatquestions have been taking a long time. Also, the information processingsystem 5 can prompt the questioners to terminate questions.

By the superimposed display processing illustrated in FIG. 22, theinformation processing system 5 can easily inform each of the users ofthe questioner and the question contents. Also, by counting the numberof the questioner-icon display areas 151 that are in a blank fieldstate, the users can grasp the number remaining persons allowed to askquestions.

In the above, detailed descriptions have been given of preferredembodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to suchexamples. It should be understood by those skilled in the art to whichthe present disclosure pertains that various changes and modificationsmay apparently occur within the spirit and scope of the appended claims,and such changes and modifications may naturally fall within the spiritand scope of the present disclosure.

For example, the above-described first to fifth embodiments may besuitably combined. For example, in place of the reference content 101illustrated in FIG. 5, the reference content illustrated in FIG. 11 maybe displayed. In this case, in the information processing system,various image contents may be superimposed on the reference contentillustrated in FIG. 11. Also, an image content for use in voting, towhich the user has voted, may be determined on the basis of a positionof a superimposed image content and a position of the image content foruse in voting. Also, in the information processing system, the referencecontent illustrated in FIG. 11 may be displayed on the display 130illustrated in FIG. 14. In this case, the viewers X can view a state ofvoting. Also, in the information processing system, any image contentmay be superimposed on the show window 43 illustrated in FIG. 16. Also,in the information processing system, any image content may besuperimposed on the reference content 140 illustrated in FIG. 21.

The following embodiments are also consistent with the presentdisclosure.

(1) An information processing apparatus comprising: a processor thatcontrols a user interface to display content; acquires positioninformation corresponding to an input received at the user interface;determines a condition corresponding to the position information; andcontrols the user interface to display data corresponding to the inputbased on a result of the determining.

(2) The information processing apparatus of (1), further comprising: acommunication interface, wherein the processor controls the userinterface to display the content by transmitting the content to anotherinformation processing apparatus including the user interface.

(3) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) or (2),further comprising: a communication interface, wherein the processorcontrols a plurality of user interfaces to display the content bytransmitting the content to a plurality of other information processingapparatuses each including a user interface.

(4) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (3),further comprising: a communication interface, wherein the processoracquires the position information corresponding to the input received atthe user interface by receiving, via the communication interface, theposition information from another information processing apparatusincluding the user interface.

(5) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (4),further comprising: a communication interface, wherein the processoracquires a plurality of position information corresponding to aplurality of inputs received at each of a plurality of user interfacesby receiving, via the communication interface, the plurality of positioninformation from a plurality of other information processing apparatuseseach including one of the plurality of user interfaces.

(6) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (5),further comprising: a memory that stores the content, wherein theprocessor controls the user interface to display the content byacquiring the content from the memory.

(7) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (6),wherein the input received at the user interface corresponds to arequest to superimpose text or image data on the displayed content.

(8) The information processing apparatus of (7), wherein the processordetermines, as the condition, whether the position informationcorresponding to the request indicates that request was input at aposition corresponding to the displayed content.

(9) The information processing apparatus of (8), wherein the processorcontrols the user interface to display the text or image datasuperimposed on the displayed content when it is determined that therequest was input at a position corresponding to the displayed content.

(10) The information processing apparatus of (8), wherein the processordetermines whether a number of existing text or image data superimposedon the displayed content exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

(11) The information processing apparatus of (10), wherein the processordeletes an oldest text or image data from the existing text or imagedata when the number of existing text or image data exceeds thepredetermined threshold value, and the processor controls the userinterface to display the text or image data corresponding to the requesttogether with the existing text or image data when it is determined thatthe request was input at a position corresponding to the displayedcontent.

(12) The information processing apparatus of any one of (10) or (11),wherein the processor controls the user interface to display the text orimage data corresponding to the request together with the existing textor image data when the number of existing text or image data does notexceed the predetermined threshold value and the request was input at aposition corresponding to the displayed content.

(13) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (12),wherein the displayed content is a moving image, the processor performsmotion detection processing on the moving image to extract a motionobject, the processor determines, as the condition, whether the positioninformation corresponding to the request indicates that request wasinput at a position corresponding to the motion object, and theprocessor controls the user interface to display data corresponding tothe input so that the display data moves in correspondence with themotion object based on a result of the determining.

(14) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (13),wherein the displayed data corresponding to the input includes at leastone of text data, image data, photo data, moving image content, and alink to a Website.

(15) The information processing apparatus of any one of (1) to (14),wherein the displayed content includes a plurality of image contents anda plurality of areas that each correspond to one of the plurality ofimage contents.

(16) The information processing apparatus of (15), wherein the processordetermines, as the condition, whether the position informationcorresponding to the input indicates that the input was received at aposition corresponding to one of the plurality of image contents.

(17) The information processing apparatus of (16), wherein the processorcontrols the user interface to modify data displayed in one of theplurality of areas based on a result of the determining.

(18) The information processing apparatus of (17), wherein the pluralityof areas that each correspond to one of the plurality of image contentsare counters, and the processor controls the user interface to update anumber displayed in one of the plurality of counters based on thedetermining.

(19) An information processing method performed by an informationprocessing apparatus, the method comprising: controlling a userinterface to display content; acquiring position informationcorresponding to an input received at the user interface; determining acondition corresponding to the position information; and controlling theuser interface to display data corresponding to the input based on aresult of the determining.

(20) A non-transitory computer-readable medium including computerprogram instructions, which when executed by an information processingapparatus, cause the information processing apparatus to perform amethod comprising: controlling a user interface to display content;acquiring position information corresponding to an input received at theuser interface; determining a condition corresponding to the positioninformation; and controlling the user interface to display datacorresponding to the input based on a result of the determining.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server, comprising: circuitry configured to:transmit first reference content to a first information processingapparatus and a second information processing apparatus; receive firstdata from the first information processing apparatus, wherein the firstdata corresponds to a first user input at a location of a display screenof the first information processing apparatus; generate firstsuperimposed display content, by combination of the first data and afirst user face icon image, based on the location of the first userinput; receive second data from the second information processingapparatus, wherein the second data corresponds to a second user input ata location of a display screen of the second information processingapparatus; generate second superimposed display content, by combinationof the second data and a second user face icon image, based on thelocation of the second user input; generate combined content bysuperimposition of the first superimposed display content on the firstreference content for a first time period; generate the combined contentby superimposition of the second superimposed display content on thefirst reference content for a second time period; transmit the generatedcombined content, as second reference content, to the first informationprocessing apparatus and the second information processing apparatus,wherein the second reference content includes a timer area; determine atime value indicated by the timer area is one of equal to or greaterthan a first threshold value; generate third reference content based onthe determination that the time value is one of equal to or greater thanthe first threshold value, wherein the third reference content includesa third user face icon image having an effect; and transmit the thirdreference content to the first information processing apparatus and thesecond information processing apparatus.
 2. The server according toclaim 1, wherein the first reference content includes at least oneobject, the display screen of the first information processing apparatusdisplays the first reference content along with the first data in asuperimposed manner, and the display screen of the second informationprocessing apparatus displays the first reference content along with thesecond data in a superimposed manner.
 3. The server according to claim1, wherein each of the location of the first data and the location ofthe second data corresponds to at least one real object in the firstreference content.
 4. The server according to claim 1, wherein each ofthe display screen of the first information processing apparatus and thedisplay screen of the second information processing apparatus displaysthe combined content by a projection of the first reference content. 5.The server according to claim 1, wherein the first user inputcorresponds to a request for the superimposition of the first data onthe first reference content, and the second user input corresponds to arequest for the superimposition of the second data on the firstreference content.
 6. The server according to claim 1, wherein the firstinformation processing apparatus: receives an input location pointed onthe first reference content as a part of the first user input, andrecognizes the input location pointed on the first reference content asa display location of the first data.
 7. The server according to claim1, wherein at least one of the first data or the second data is at leastone of short sentence content or a balloon image that includes the shortsentence content.
 8. The server according to claim 1, wherein based on adetermination that a number of the first data and the second data forthe superimposition on the first reference content is below a secondthreshold value, the circuitry is further configured to generate thirdsuperimposed display content by superimposition of third data on thecombined content, and the third data is input as a third user input at alocation of a display screen of a third information processingapparatus.
 9. The server according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry isfurther configured to move at least one of the first data or the seconddata to follow a motion object in the first reference content.
 10. Theserver of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:calculate a value that corresponds to an arithmetic mean of the locationof the first data and the location of the second data; and determine thecalculated value as a display position of the generated combinedcontent.
 11. An information processing method, comprising: in a server:transmitting first reference content to a first information processingapparatus and a second information processing apparatus; receiving firstdata from the first information processing apparatus, wherein the firstdata corresponds to a first user input at a location of a display screenof the first information processing apparatus; generating firstsuperimposed display content, by combination of the first data and afirst user face icon image, based on the location of the first userinput; receiving second data from the second information processingapparatus, wherein the second data corresponds to a second user input ata location of a display screen of the second information processingapparatus; generating second superimposed display content, bycombination of the second data and a second user face icon image, basedon the location of the second user input; generating combined content bysuperimposition of the first superimposed display content on the firstreference content for a first time period; generating the combinedcontent by superimposition of the second superimposed display content onthe first reference content for a second time period; and transmittingthe generated combined content, as second reference content, to thefirst information processing apparatus and the second informationprocessing apparatus, wherein the second reference content includes atimer area; determining a time value indicated by the timer area is oneof equal to or greater than a threshold value; generating thirdreference content based on the determination that the time value is oneof equal to or greater than the threshold value, wherein the thirdreference content includes a third user face icon image having aneffect; and transmitting the third reference content to the firstinformation processing apparatus and the second information processingapparatus.
 12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon, computer-executable instructions which, when executed by aprocessor, cause the processor to execute operations, the operationscomprising: transmitting first reference content to a first informationprocessing apparatus and a second information processing apparatus;receiving first data from the first information processing apparatus,wherein the first data corresponds to a first user input at a locationof a display screen of the first information processing apparatus;generating first superimposed display content, by combination of thefirst data and a first user face icon image, based on the location ofthe first user input; receiving second data from the second informationprocessing apparatus, wherein the second data corresponds to a seconduser input at a location of a display screen of the second informationprocessing apparatus; generating second superimposed display content, bycombination of the second data and a second user face icon image, basedon the location of the second user input; generating combined content bysuperimposition of the first superimposed display content on the firstreference content for a first time period; generating the combinedcontent by superimposition of the second superimposed display content onthe first reference content for a second time period; transmitting thegenerated combined content, as second reference content, to the firstinformation processing apparatus and the second information processingapparatus, wherein the second reference content includes a timer area;determining a time value indicated by the timer area is one of equal toor greater than a threshold value; generating third reference contentbased on the determination that the time value is one of equal to orgreater than the threshold value, wherein the third reference contentincludes a third user face icon image having an effect; and transmittingthe third reference content to the first information processingapparatus and the second information processing apparatus.